Winter Blunderland
by harrypanther
Summary: Modern AU: A last minute booking, a confusion about rooms and the arrival of some unwanted faces make heartbroken teacher Hiccup Haddock's last minute winter break more exciting and eventful than he had ever planned. Original Idea by Vala411
1. Booking Boo Boo

**Modern AU: A last minute booking, a confusion about rooms and the arrival of some unwanted faces make heartbroken teacher Hiccup Haddock's last minute winter break more exciting and eventful than he had ever planned.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own How To Train Your Dragon. Rights remain with Cressida Cowell and Dreamworks.**

 **A/N: I couldn't resist this-this is based on a story idea from Vala 411 with a few harrypanther modifications. And because who doesn't like to read about a holiday which seems to be a disaster from start to finish (almost)? Happy New Year everyone!**

-o0o-

 **ONE: Booking Boo-Boo**

It had been a last minute impulse, born of a fear of going crazy staring at the walls all alone over the New Year so Hiccup Haddock had booked a room and headed for Berk's winter playground up on Dragon Mountain. Not that he had any plans to go skiing or snowboarding but he was just desperate to get away from his now empty apartment and all the memories swirling around the cold space. So he had packed up his winter gear, brought his ski boots-just in case-and caught the crammed train from Berk to the resort high up and a long way from the town. It was pretty much the last train of the year and everyone but everyone was desperate to make the trip for New Year's Eve. So he had spent two hours standing in a corner of the carriage because there were no seats, being elbowed intermittently by a large woman loudly discussing how 'her Errol' would love his first time skiing.

Lightly bruised and exhausted, he had walked from the freezing station, almost slipping on the single platform and had found there were no buses or taxis available because they had already been reserved. So he had fastened up his skiing jacket, pulled on his mittens and trudged down the slope towards the town of Dragon's Edge. He squinted and adjusted his large green bobble hat. Town was a generous description of a cluster of large Ski Lodges, three shops, a handful of restaurants and several Ski hire places. Sighing, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and trudged through most of the town to the furthest lodge on the borough, a green and brown painted chalet-style construction bearing the bold sign 'THORSTON LODGE'. Squinting at the slightly lopsided sign, he trudged in.

The Lobby was warm and a large fire was burning in the open fireplace as he trudged in and hastily unzipped his jacket. The temperature was roasting and he blinked before he walked to the wide desk where the two shapes were arguing.

"I cannot believe you did that!" the female snapped, She was tall and lanky with a long face, three long fat blonde braids and irritated expression in her pale grey-blue eyes. The male facing her was almost her mirror image though he had darker eyes and his hair in long blond dreadlocks. Both were identically dressed in khaki shirts and pants, brown boots and brown leather waistcoats.

"Hey, Butt-Elf-I'm the one who can't believe you did it either!" he retorted. Then he paused. "What did we do?" She huffed in exasperation.

"We had one room left and you…"

"Um...hello?" Hiccup said, arriving at the desk and wondering of he had arrived in the right place. "Can I check in?" The two concierges jumped and glared at each other before the female darted forward first and gave a very unnerving smile.

"Well to Thorston Lodge!" she said hastily. "What can we do for you?" Fishing out a printout of his booking, Hiccup handed it over.

"Can I check in, please?" he asked as she stared at the sheet with a shocked expression. "My name is Hiccup Haddock." She took a breath.

"Oh, I'm sorry but we…"

"No problem, my man!" the male concierge interrupted, shoving the woman aside and slamming a key onto the counter. There was a large black wooden plaque attached to it in the shape of a bat-like dragon with the red number 12 painted under the varnish. "Room 12-the top room in the Lodge."

"Top room?" Hiccup asked, feeling the female glare at him. The male grinned madly.

"Aha," he said. "As in on the top floor, under the eaves. Best view in the hotel of the slopes and there's even a balcony for those mornings when you want to freshen up your lungs…"

"Or possibly freeze them solid," Hiccup added sarcastically. The male rolled his eyes.

"Why does no one like my balcony?" he asked.

"Because it's a stupid idea," the female concierge told him."Especially in Berk. In Devastating Winter. With all the blizzards…" The male pushed a paper slip in front of Hiccup, elbowing her aside.

"It's a brilliant idea," he argued, being shoved back. "Could you fill in the guest card here-here-ow!-and sign there. Gettoff!" Flicking a look at the concierges who were fighting, Hiccup sighed. It was like being back in his class at Raven Point High School in Berk, a public school serving the poorest and roughest areas of the town. Being a Science specialist, he found even his fairly boundless enthusiasm waning as the students failed to respond and almost no one chose his carefully planned and absorbing classes. There was also a lot of messing around but Hiccup wasn't a pushover-he was just a decent, supportive educationalist who wanted to do his best for his students. And though he couldn't bellow like his father, he could get his point across, taking a pride that those students who had taken his classes had come back and many had gone on to college to do science subjects. He swiftly completed the form and signed with a flourish.

"Done," he said, being completely ignored by the squabbling concierges.

"Muttonhead!"

"Butt-Elf"

"Idiot!"

"Harpy!"

"HEY!" Hiccup snapped and the two looked up. "If we could just finish this, I really just want to unpack and sit down…" Sharing a look, the pair brushed themselves down and gave eerie identical smiles.

"Thank you, sir," the female said. She straightened up a badge that read 'RUFFNUT' while the male put his name badge on upside down though Hiccup tilted his head and read the name 'TUFFNUT'. "Our assistant will help you with your bags. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Hiccup nodded.

"Could you arrange for ski hire please-and book me a table for dinner tonight-say at seven?" The female nodded and made a note.

"SNOTLOUT!" Tuffnut bellowed and a stocky shape with jet hair peered round the door from the office. His regular face was irritated.

"What? I was just watching the Christmas Movie…I mean, 'Elf' is just my favourite movie of all time and..."

"Christmas is so last week!" Tuffnut told him superiorly. "New Year is the big thing now-and we have a guest here needs taking up to Room 12…"

"What? But that's a LONG way up…"

"And we have a _guest_ …" Tuffnut wheedled.

"Why is it when people come here to be active all day and go out clubbing all night, that they are suddenly incapable of carrying their own bags up two flights of stairs?" the man who was apparently named 'Snotlout' snarked.

"SNOTLOUT!" Ruffnut snapped and then turned back to Hiccup with a false smile in her face. "I'm sorry-minor staff issues," she added and made a punching gesture at the reluctant bellhop.

"I'll see myself up," Hiccup said tiredly, not wanting to watch the trio argue any longer. He had had more than his fair share of arguments in the last few weeks and he was tired. "Which way is it?" Ruffnut sighed.

"All the way along to the end of the Lobby, door marked 'STAIRS' and up to the top floor. It's the only room. I'll send Snotlout... _someone_ up with towels in a few minutes." She forced a smile onto her face. "Enjoy your stay!" He nodded and turned away, not missing the hiss of:

"...said we would honour which one turned up first."

"Yeah-but the wrong one turned up!"

Ignoring the clearly very eccentric pair, he headed for the stairwell and walked up two floors to the top level to find himself faced with a door labelled '12'. Unlocking it, he walked into a very large room with a king sized bed, two wardrobes, a large couch and coffee table and the door to what turned out to be a very sumptuous marble bathroom with double shower, bath, basin and toilet.

"This room is almost as large as my bedroom," he commented as he turned around and caught sight of himself in the mirror. Tall and skinny as ever, his pale face was haggard and there were shadows under his glorious green eyes, His auburn hair was a disaster, wilder than ever and he looked uncared-for. No wonder the concierges-no matter how weirdly they have behaved-were suspicious about admitting him. But he was here now and the break would do him good. He would go out, get some fresh air and exercise, read the books he had downloaded onto his phone, maybe even draw and try to get over his past relationship which made him feel worthless.

Quietly he stowed his things in the wardrobes, put his phone to charge by the bed and walked to the contentious balcony. And then he felt his breath stolen by the view across the mountain. Quietly, he unlocked and opened the door and walked out, feeling the cold air on his face and taking a deep breath. His eyes swept over the vista and he sighed at the sun gilding the snow, the slow lines of the ski lifts trailing up the slopes with the winding white highways of runs dipping between the pine forests. And he felt a pang of pain shoot through his chest.

Despite how beautiful the place was, he was still alone and dumped. He just had to hope it would be a happier New Year.

-o0o-

Astrid Hofferson pulled up in the packed car park behind the Ski Lodge and scowled. There was a small space at the back and she had to try reversing in three times before she could park and actually get out of the car as well before grabbing her bags and gear from the trunk and making her cautious way towards the entrance. Her rehab had been going better than even she had expected and her Physio had given her the all-clear to get back on snow. And where better than the place she had learned to ski, all those years ago with her parents and her beloved Uncle?

She walked into the lodge and smiled: the Tour had taken her all over Europe and seeing an Alpine Chalet-style lodge brought back all sorts of positive memories. Confidently, she walked up to the desk and stared at the two concierges-definitely siblings by their similarities-and cleared her throat. The both looked guiltily up.

"Excuse me-I'd like to check in please," she said confidently.

"Name?" the woman asked.

"Astrid Hofferson," she said and produced her printed reservation. "You are expecting me." The male stared and opened his mouth.

"Ah, yeah, well, there's been a…"

The female punched him.

"Delighted to see you, Miss Hofferson," she said. "We have your room ready." She scuffled with the male concierge and snatched a key off him: the large wooden fob was painted like a blue Nadder dragon with the orange number 12 painted on it. "It's our best room on the top floor. Excellent views and of course, a balcony if you want to take the air…"

"Hey-that was my balcony!" the male protested. "You can't claim the balcony when you dissed it earlier! I demand respect!"

"Would someone be able to help me with my bags?" Astrid asked, shaking her head and wondering if she had accidentally checked into an asylum.. "And could someone store my skis, sticks and boots in the ski garage?" The woman banged her fist on the door to the office.

"Go away!" a voice floated from within. "I haven't finished 'Elf' yet!"

"Snotlout, I have a guest here to take to her room," she snapped. The head poked round the door and the man opened his mouth to retort but then he caught sight of Astrid. Slender, beautiful with golden hair braided over her shoulder and cheeks flushed with the cold and a determined look on her face, Snotlout's blue eyes widened and then he adopted a dopey expression.

"Well, hello Gorgeous," he said lecherously. "Where are you off to?"

"My room-I hope," she said with a small smile. "Could you help me with my bags, please?" There was a crash and Snotlout vanished but appeared again, wiping crumbs of potato chips off his hair and grinning cheesily as he emerged from the office. He gallantly grabbed her huge ski bag, boots bag and sticks and stumbled towards the back of the Lobby. "I'll just put these away…" he wheezed as he wrestled the door open, tripped over the boot bag and tumbled down the stairs. There were a selection of crashes, groans and finally something went BOING! But as Astrid sped to the top of the stairs and peered into the cellar, a voice echoed up. "I'm okay, Princess! Now if you can just help get about seventy pairs of skis off of me, we'll get you to your room."

-o0o-

Hiccup had come back inside and made himself a coffee before sitting on the couch, his hand-knitted green jumper rumpled as he stared at his phone. He hadn't changed his wallpaper yet so the screen showed him hugging a slim, bright-eyed woman, her face filled with a smile. She was pretty, her bright blue eyes and wild blond hair framing her face. Giving a sigh, Hiccup rubbed his thumb over her image.

"I still don't understand what I did wrong," he sighed. "I thought we were good, Camicazi. I mean, I always tried to do everything you wanted to do. Why… Why did you have to hurt me so?" He sighed. "Why wasn't I good enough?"

He looked up as the door opened and a very pretty blonde woman appeared in the doorway. Hiccup gestured to the bathroom.

"Just put the towels in there, please," he said in a defeated voice-and then started as the woman marched into the room, pointedly flung her bags onto the bed and stormed over to glare down on him.

"What the Helheim are you doing in my room?" she demanded. He looked up.

"This is my room," he told her as she glared at him and planted her mittened fists on her hips.

"Excuse me," she snapped. "But this is my room-booked and paid for. You're in the wrong place!" He rose, feeling intimidated by her looming over him and found he topped her by a head before he walked to his bag and fished out the confirmation.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Miss," he said firmly, showing her the confirmation. "This is my room. I booked it, I paid for it-and what's more, I was here first." She growled in her throat and snatched her own booking receipt from her bag.

"No, you're mistaken!" she retorted aggressively and waved it in his face. "This says the room was mine-also bought and paid for. So why don't you pack up your rubbish and get OUT of my room?"

"Because it's MY room," he replied, hanging onto his temper tightly. He was generally a calm and kind man who tried to reason his way through things but this raging Valkyrie wasn't making life easy for him-especially since she was almost vibrating with rage. He really hated confrontation and this wasn't doing anything for his hopes of a quiet getaway for his wounded heart to recover. Astrid folded her arms.

"Okay, Mister Liar,' she sneered. "Let's see who has the right to this room. Show me the time your booking was accepted. First one gets the room." They both scanned their respective confirmations.

"December 30th," Hiccup began.

"Nine thirty two AM," Astrid continued.

"And forty-one seconds," they both concluded and then stared at one another. "WHAT?" They swapped documents and then stared.

"This can't be right," Astrid snapped and compared the two.

"I think it is," Hiccup replied, retrieving his own receipt. Astrid tossed her head.

"Never mind," she said. "Do you know who I am?" He looked her up and down, his gaze admiring. Apart from what seemed to be a pretty fierce temper and severe obstinacy, she was beautiful, determined, intelligent and clearly rich, looking at the make of skiing jacket she was wearing. While he would make most tramps look well-dressed.

"Nope," he confessed.

"Really?' she asked, deflating a little. He shrugged.

"Sorry. Not a clue." And then he saw her expression fall a little. "Um..am I supposed to? No, wait...we didn't go to school together did we? Because I have probably blanked all of that time out...I mean it wasn't great and…"

"NO!" she interrupted him, her tone exasperated. "I am Astrid Hofferson!"

"And…?" he prompted her.

"Astrid Hofferson? _The_ Astrid Hofferson? Hoff the Valkyrie? Ring any bells?"

"Nope. Got nothing. Should I know you?" he asked. She exhaled in exasperation.

"Of all the cloth-eared lunatics on this ridiculous island, I get this one," she muttered. "Astrid Hofferson. Junior World Champion in Ski Cross. The only person from the island of Berk who has actually ever stood on an Olympic Podium. Ring any bells?" Hiccup shrugged.

"Actually, no," he confessed. "Not a big sports fan. My Dad would have known who you were. Or Gobber, my unofficial Uncle. Or probably my actual Uncle who I haven't seen since I was five. Not me. Sorry." Astrid wanted to faceplant against something at this moment. Instead, she rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

"Look, my point is that I need to be here to get some vital time on snow," she argued. "I have been off the Tour for four weeks because my rival for the Overall title took me out and I ended up with a broken wrist. I need to be here because I need to ski and the Archi Series Ski Cross Race-which is also a World Cup-is being held here on the 3rd which will give me a great chance to see where I am in my rehab and training…" She stared at him. "So you see-I need to be here. So can you just pack up your things and go?"

He looked at her and then back out of the window.

"No," he said. "I may not be some skiing Pro or the only Olympic Medallist to come out of Berk-I mean, I am not even the only teacher to come out of my family! But I've had a horrible Christmas, I've broken up with my girlfriend and I need to get away from my apartment and all the memories there for a few days or I may go mad." And he turned to see her unimpressed expression. "And none of this means anything to you?"

"This is my career, my life!" she told him bluntly.

"It's my life as well and I need this," he sighed and then he frowned. "Look, if you're a Pro, why don't you live in some snowy place anyway?"

"I do," she said sourly. "But there's been a huge rainstorm over Berserker Vale and practically all the snow has gone. So I booked the last room here."

He sighed.

"So did I," he reminded her. "And for your information, Miss Self-Centred, I can't get back until after the holidays. The last train has left and there is no other way back." He chewed his lip and realised the truth. "You have a car don't you? So you can go somewhere else and leave me to _my_ room!"

She scowled at him.

"You mean my room?" she taunted him and then turned to the door-to see the shape of Snotlout standing there with her bags. "Put those over by the wardrobe!" she commanded.

"I think I'm in love…" he drooled. Astrid elbowed him aside and he yelped. Hiccup scowled.

"Actually-you should take them back to the Lobby as she's leaving," he told the stocky man.

"Put them over there!" Astrid growled.

"Take them to the Lobby!" Hiccup insisted. Snotlout dropped them and sat on the biggest case, pouting.

"I'm not going anywhere until someone says please," he sulked.

"PLEASE!" Astrid and Hiccup said together. Snotlout scowled.

"You didn't really mean that," he pouted.

"Come along, whoever you are," Astrid snapped, glaring at Snotlout. "We'll clear this up with the concierges right now and then you can go and find your way home when they give me my room!" Hiccup clenched his fists. Easy-going he may be but he wasn't a complete pushover and this blonde female's determination to steal his room was starting to annoy him. The physical similarity to his ex wasn't helping his mood either but he was sure it was some honest mistake and that the hotel would fix it. He didn't mind swapping rooms but he would be damned to Jotunheim before he gave up his desperately needed holiday.

Astrid was sprinting down the steps and Hiccup sped after her, arriving a few steps behind her at the desk. There was, not surprisingly, no one to be seen. Irritated, Astrid rang the bell. And again. And again. Frowning, Hiccup walked round the desk and rapped on the door to the office.

"No one is here!" a female voice called from the other side of the door.

"Nope. No one at all," a male voice added. Hiccup shook his head and tried the door. It didn't budge-but Astrid was at his side, scowling at the door.

"Allow me," she suggested and kicked the door in. She stood back. "After you." He nodded.

"Thank you, Miss Hofferson," he said and she blushed.

"I don't actually know your name," she said.

"Later," he said as they walked in-to find the two concierges hiding behind a small desk proudly bearing the sign "RUFFNUT AND TUFFNUT THORSTON-PROPRIETORS".. They shared a look and pointed at each other.

"It was his/her fault!" they shouted at the same time and ducked back down behind the desk. Hiccup frowned.

"You knew yesterday when we booked and you could have said something or contacted one of us," he said sternly. "Why didn't you?" Astrid folded her arms.

"I'll tell you why!" she snapped. "Greed. Pure greed!" Tuffnut popped up and glared at her.

"Hey, Missy-I'll have you know more people have failed to turn up to this chalet than any other in the whole of Dragon's Edge!" he announced. "We were hardly about to turn away a booking when one or both of you might not have turned up."

"What do you mean more people don't turn up here?" Astrid demanded. "What's wrong with the place?"

"Did you even consider what to do if we both turned up?" Hiccup asked them sternly, staying on point. They twins shared a look.

"Um...we were going to give the room to the person who turned up first," Tuffnut admitted in an embarrassed voice as Hiccup gave a small "YES!" and a fist-pump. Then he pulled himself together.

"So why did you give me a key?" Astrid asked in a suddenly softer voice. Ruffnut sighed.

"Because we didn't want to turn you away," she sighed. "I mean that gets a Chalet a bad reputation…"

"And double-booking rooms doesn't?" Astrid snarked back, her eyes flaring again. She bit her lip and her shoulders dropped again as she turned back to Hiccup. She was clearly struggling and then she sighed. "I am sorry," she confessed. "I-I was in the wrong. I mean...I wasn't but you had booked the same room and you got there first and...I guess I'm out of luck as well…" But as she turned away, Hiccup caught her shoulder.

"Wait," he said quietly and then turned a baleful glare on the concierges. "This isn't fair-to either of us but definitely not to Astrid. So what are you going to do about this?" They shared a look.

"Um, do we have to?" they asked as Hiccup prowled closer.

"Yes, you do," he told them sternly. "You took both our money and sold us both the same room. So you have to find replacement accommodation or refund Astrid's money."

The concierges stared at look.

"Give…"

"...money…"

"...back?"

Their tone was aghast.

"I believe selling something you don't have is called fraud and is a criminal offence," Hiccup explained firmly as they looked outraged.

"Aw c'mon!" Tuffnut protested. "Selling a room twice is a crime? Gimme a break. Next you'll be telling me that selling a room you don't have is a crime. Or calling blackcurrant juice with homebrewed vodka 'vintage claret' is a crime. Or serving processed fish sticks as 'Arctic Cod' is a crime. Is there anything that isn't a crime? Oh Thor, why do you make life so confusing?" Hiccup and Astrid shared a look.

"Pretty much everything that doesn't involve lying, cheating and selling some cheap replacement as something it is not for far more money. Basically," Astrid snarked. "Thor, it doesn't say that on 'Trip'N'Go'. All the reviews were really positive…" Then she frowned. "Did you two write them?" Both immediately looked guilty.

"Not _all_ of them," Ruffnut said.

"Yeah, the staff posted some as well…" Tuffnut explained and then slapped his hands over his mouth. "Oops…"

"I just want a room," Astrid sighed. "I mean, Felicia will be too far ahead in the rankings if I don't score anything in the race on the Third and my season will be over. I have to practice…" The siblings shrugged.

"Sorry," they said. "All the staff are doubled up. We share a room. Snotlout is sleeping in the Janitor's closet! We really don't have anywhere…" Glancing over, he saw Astrid chew her lip and then she looked defeated. But she lifted her chin and smiled.

"Refund my money now and I'll see if anywhere has a cancellation…" she said but Ruff shook her head.

"Everywhere is full," she said. "We're always the last one to fill up. Sorry." The skier swallowed and then sighed.

"Could you get my bags from the room, then, and I'll go home," she sighed.

"Wait!" Hiccup interrupted and ran his fingers through his wild hair. "Look-I am probably going to regret this-but do you want to share?"

"Share?" Astrid asked warily.

"SHARE!" the twins whooped, high-fiving. "RESULT!"

"No," Hiccup said sharply. "If Astrid agrees-and by the look of her face, the answer will probably be no anyway-you refund half the money to each of us. And you throw in a meal tonight at the restaurant-with no vintage claret or Arctic Cod but food which is actually what it is supposed to be!"

"Awww…" Ruffnut moaned.

"Or we start posting reviews on Trip'N'Go telling the truth about this place…" he threatened. Tuffnut looked outraged again.

"You wouldn't!" he protested. "We gave you my balcony!" Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, we would," Astrid told him and looked over at Hiccup. "Yes," she said firmly. "I hope you don't snore…"

"I don't… I think," Hiccup said while scratching the back of his head. "I'm usually asleep at the time so I can't be a hundred percent…" This caused Astrid to laugh and clap Hiccup on the back.

"Funny," she said. "I like that." He blushed and dipped his head for a second.

"Um...thanks," he murmured. "So...shall we go back up?" She smiled and linked her arm with his.

"Only if you tell me your name," she told him. He gave a small, embarrassed laugh.

"Ah, well...you see...that's the funny thing and...Hiccup Haddock," he admitted. To give her credit, she only smiled.

"Could be worse," she told him as they headed back up the stairs.

"Really? How?" he asked her.

"Horace? Gaylord? Satan? Adolf?" Hiccup's eyes widened. "What about, Mooky, Hubert, Sue?" Hiccup raised a brow as if to ask if she was alluding to that one song called 'A boy named Sue'.

"Seriously? I mean calling your kid Horace is just child cruelty," he commented dryly. "I still think that Hiccup is probably the worst name in the Archipelago...maybe except Satan or Horace." They reached the room and Hiccup opened the door and let Astrid in. Finally, both in the room, Hiccup gestured. "Make yourself at home," he invited her as she cast around.

"There's only one bed," she pointed out. He nodded.

"Sorry-not sleeping on the floor," he said firmly. "You stay, you have that side of the bed."

"That side?" she asked with a smirk. He nodded.

"I've always slept on the right side of the bed," he explained. She smiled at him.

"So have I….."

"Uhm…. rock, paper, scissors?" Hiccup suggested and Astrid nodded, immediately in position. "Competitive, eh?" he guessed.

"Always," she grinned.


	2. Dinner Disaster

**TWO: Dinner Disaster**

Having moved his things to the left side of the bed after losing the best of nine rock-paper-scissors, the pair had settled down, unpacked and moved into the room. Astrid had gone out to check the slopes and get a map of the runs while Hiccup had finished reading his book. By the time she was back, it was almost time for dinner so he had changed into his good dark red shirt and black jeans and then had rung down to confirm that their table. And then Astrid had emerged from the bathroom.

His jaw dropped, for she was sheathed in a lapis blue knitted dress with a bronze pendant on a long rawhide string, her dark blue tights and copper ankle boots matching the outfit. Her long blonde hair was loose over her shoulders and her lips were pink with lipstick. She stopped and looked at his shocked expression.

"Is everything okay?" she asked as he blinked.

"Um...yeah?" he answered nervously. "I mean you're beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And I cannot believe you're going to the restaurant. With me. Even if we aren't having the 'Vintage Claret'..." She chuckled.

"You clean up pretty well yourself," she commented as she grabbed her purse and they headed downstairs. "I mean, it is New Year's Eve and I am here with a new friend in possibly the worst hotel in Dragon's Edge." She linked her arm with his and grinned. "What could possibly go wrong?"

In the couple of hours since they had headed upstairs, the Lobby had been decorated with balloons, banners and streamers, there was party music playing and Snotlout was now dressed as a waiter bearing a large tray laden with glasses of fruit juice and plates of surprisingly-appetising looking canapes. Astrid peered at them and tentatively took a mini goat's cheese and onion marmalade mini brioche while Hiccup hazarded the smoked salmon and caviar blini. Both were excellent. And then they walked to the restaurant, where a sleek woman in a black tux welcomed them, her raven hair braided over her left shoulder and green eyes welcoming.

"Welcome to the Zippleback Restaurant," she said smoothly. "Reservation in the name of…?"

"Haddock," Hiccup said firmly as the woman smiled.

"Table three," she said and grabbed two green leatherette-bound menus and led them to an excellent two-person table by the big picture window showing the slopes. "My name is Heather and I will be your server. Here are the Specials tonight." Hiccup and Astrid took their seats and both ordered the salmon and crab terrine with dill mayonnaise and wilted spinach as appetisers with steaks for their entrees-Hiccup had the peppercorn sauce while Astrid ordered Bernaise. And for dessert, Heather had recommended the Crepes d'Hiver, a black cherry and kirsch version of Crepe Suzette.

Looking around, Astrid had looked longingly at the illuminated slopes, her eyes glowing softly with happiness and in that moment, Hiccup realised he had finally met the real girl. As they sipped their champagne cocktails, Astrid had explained how her Uncle had taught her to ski, how she had been ferociously competitive and how she had gone to a ski gymnasium over in Sweden to hone her skills. And when she was able, she had joined the Ski Cross Tour and had been making waves ever since. How she had been leading the ranking this year until she was illegally taken out by her rival and had ended up sidelined with a broken wrist that had denied her the slopes until it was healed-and how desperate she was to get back on her skis and check she hadn't lost her nerve.

"I can't imagine you fearing anything," Hiccup said gallantly. She shrugged.

"Hoffersons are always know as Fearless but my parents are not happy when I risk so much on the course," she sighed. "They won't come to races because they really wanted me to go into Alpine. Notwithstanding it's faster and far more dangerous. I mean, people die doing Alpine Skiing! We just get a few breaks and concussions…"

"None of which sounds very encouraging either…" he pointed out. She sighed.

"Hiccup-I'm really good at this," she told him as Heather delivered their appetisers. "I mean in the top two or three in the entire world! And I know my career won't last forever-but while I have the chance, why shouldn't I fly? Why shouldn't I see how good I can really be? My parents want me safe-but I know I will spend my life regretting not trying. And life is too short to spend on regrets. I mean, I can do something safe once my career is over!"

He grasped her hand.

"I believe you," he said. "I mean regrets are killers, aren't they" She nodded and he felt a pang of sympathy. "And I guess your parents don't come to your races?" She shook her head, her eyes filled with regret. "And Uncle Finn?"

"Died in a car smash shortly after I won my first race," she sighed. "I want to stand on top of the podium at the end of the season with the Crystal Globe and dedicate it all to him."

"So this is really important to you," he realised and she nodded-and then her brows furrowed as she dipped into her appetiser.

"But you haven't had a great time either," she pointed out. "You said you had broken up with your girlfriend?" He nodded.

"Yeah," he sighed. "We had been together for eight months and I was in love with her. She was a teacher at well-but she transferred to Berk Academy over the summer while I stayed at Raven Point High." Astrid sipped her champagne and watched him. His hands were moving as he talked about the woman, how she was smart and sassy and how she had wanted him to transfer-but he was determined to stay at the public school and give the kids every chance he could. And then how he had heard rumours that she had been out on a date with someone else…from gossip in the teachers' common room.

"That's tough," she sighed. "Did she deny it?" He drained his glass.

"No," he said tonelessly. "In fact, she told me Erik was ambitious, driven, intellectual..everything I apparently was not. We argued for a couple of weeks but whatever we had was broken. So she left me for him. Two weeks ago. Not a word since. She just cut me off." He shrugged helplessly.

"So what did your family say about this?" she asked him and his shoulders slumped so she knew the answer before he gave it.

"Parents are gone," he said quietly. "Mom died in a car smash as well when I was fifteen-and Dad had a stroke when I was twenty-two. I made it to the hospital. He just told me he was pleased to see me and that his head hurt-and then he had another, fatal stroke." He shrugged.

"Well, this is depressing," she summarised honestly. "So let's make a deal, Mr Haddock. Let's forget about our woes and just for this evening-have some fun?" He looked up, his green eyes wary. "Look-you seem to be a nice guy and you're certainly a generous one, allowing a strange and very rude woman to share your room even when she tried to get you thrown out of said room. You've been polite and kind when frankly I deserved to have my ass kicked."

"True," he admitted. "But I believe you should always treat people how you want to be treated so...yeah…" Then he lifted his phone and took a picture of her. She gasped in shock. "Look, no one will believe I went to dinner with a famous sports star...let alone my unofficial Uncle…" She laughed. And then she lifted her phone, thumbed over the app and clicked a picture with a little message to her followers. He frowned. "Um...what just happened?" She smirked.

"I took a picture of the handsome young man I am having New Year's Eve dinner with," she said and turned to display the picture of Hiccup, a small smile on his face.

"Um...maybe two out of three were correct…" he mumbled but she smiled and raised her glass, which Heather had refilled.

"To friendship," she said. "To success. "To the family you choose for yourself." He raised his glass.

"And to a Happy…"

"Hiccup?" A female voice cut him off and he looked round- to see the blonde shape of his former girlfriend, Camicazi Boggs-Burglr standing just by the table, her blonde hair framing her shocked face and an exasperated look in her eyes. Hiccup's eyes widened and he stared at her, almost dropping his glass.

"C-C-Cami?" he stammered. She shook her hair.

"Yeah-me," she said. "Your girlfriend. What are you doing here? With her?"

"Um...having Dinner…" he said in a slightly dazed voice. "Why are you here, Cami?"

"Looking for my boyfriend," she said as if it was obvious.

"Really? Is he hiding somewhere here? Better check the Janitor's cupboard-he may be sharing with Snotlout," Astrid sassed. Cami glared at the poised woman.

"Excuse you and shut up!" Cami snarked. "It's none of your business!"

"Nor I think, yours," Astrid pointed out. "Since you dumped Hiccup." Glaring at the Skier, Cami turned her big blue eyes on the shocked Hiccup, who was still barely breathing.

"Hiccup? Baby? Haven't you got anything to say?" she asked plaintively.

"Um...how did you find me?" he asked. She gestured.

"You snapchatted your neighbour to check that wretched moggy of yours was okay, didn't you?" she asked a little more coldly that she had been previously. Hiccup winced: Toothless had never liked her. "I used it to track where you were-and drove up to find where my boyfriend had gotten to…"

"I'm not your boyfriend," he said painfully. "You dumped me." Cami grasped at his hand.

"Aw baby-that was just a sort of misunderstanding…" she pouted.

"You mean he dumped you," Astrid commented, swiftly chopping a piece off her steak. "Busted," she murmured under her breath.

"What was that?" Cami snapped, turning on her.

"I said-cheaters never prosper," she replied more loudly. "You cheated on him-and now the guy you cheated with doesn't want you. Maybe he realises you aren't loyal so you aren't worth keeping…" Cami grabbed her glass and splashed it straight in Astrid's face.

"So what does that make you?" she sneered. "A cheap substitute? Look at you? Blonde and blue eyes! How pathetic is it that my loser boyfriend seeks out an almost exact copy-though a bit flat in the chest department…" Astrid's fists clenched but she gritted her teeth and choked back what she wanted to say-because the girl was so wrong she was ridiculous.

"Nope-it makes me the fool," Hiccup said quietly. "A fool for believing you were serious about me and a fool for even listening to you. Astrid is right-you dumped me and you're only back to give me a second chance because you're terrified to start the New Year alone. Even though you were happy to leave me dumped and hurting when you saw a better option…" Cami smiled at him and fluttered her eyelashes.

"Hiccy Baby-you know you want me," she told him. "I mean, you're so sweet and loving...you can afford to give a silly girl who made a mistake a second chance, can't you? Baby?"

"No," he said quietly as she stared at him. "I can't trust you, Cami. I-I loved you...and you broke my heart. But to turn up and expect to snap your fingers and for everything to just be okay again is insulting to me and to you."

"And I never expected you to be cheating on me with this skank!" Cami sneered.

"You can't cheat when you're unattached," Astrid said.

"No one asked you, blondie," Cami sneered. Astrid reached up, grabbed her hair and slammed her face into her plate, hauling her up covered in gravy, mash and Sauce Bearnaise.

"And he turned you down," Astrid pointed out. Cami lunged at her but the skier swayed sideways and landed a firm punch that slammed Cami back into a completely innocent ornamental fern that found itself suddenly squashed. Cursing and flailing around, a large husky blond man in a host's black tux and pants wearing a badge saying FISHLEGS came and helped her up.

"Get off of me!" Cami spat. The man eeped and backed off.

"I'm sorry-how can we help you?" he asked politely.

"I want you to throw that woman out!" Cami announced dramatically. "She attacked me!"

"Actually-you attacked her first," Hiccup pointed out. "And you insulted her."

"Well, she's a cheap…" Cami snarled but there were gasps and murmurs. Astrid looked around.

"They know me," she murmured and Hiccup blushed. "Who am I, guys?"

"Astrid Hofferson!" a sneering female voice announced and Astrid's head snapped round to see a tall, elegant woman with long raven hair walking up with a very buff and handsome dark-haired man on her arm. Hiccup leaned closer, his eyes confused.

"Who is she?" he asked. "I take it she's not a fan?" Astrid ground her teeth.

"Felicia Dampf-Nudel, my main rival on the Tour," she growled.

"And the person who took you out in that race?" Hiccup guessed. Astrid nodded.

"What are you doing in this dive, Astrid?" Felicia asked, her sneering grey gaze sweeping over the restaurant, which was clean, nicely decorated with a Christmas tree, fairy lights and HAPPY NEW YEAR banners and filled with diners having a good meal.

"I was quietly enjoying eating dinner with my friend until some crazy bitch tried to get my date to get back with her and some uber-bitch walked by and started talking to me," she said honestly. Felicia gave a sympathetic sigh.

"Poor Asty," she said. "Your life is such a drama. Your coach dies after your first win, your boyfriend decides I'm a better bet, you almost fall and miss out on the Olympic Gold and you're just leading the Tour when you have an accident…"

Astrid snorted.

"When you shoved me on the rollers so I flew off at the 180 degree corner," Astrid growled. "Funny how you weren't red-carded for that!" Felicia gave a sly smirk.

"I guess the race jury didn't want to lose the two top stars in the Tour for an extended period-you to injury and me to suspension," she retorted. "Though I was relegated in the Final to Fourth."

"While I missed four weeks," Astrid snapped. "Hardly fair." Felicia smirked.

"Well, whatcha gonna do?" she sneered. "I took you out and now I'm two hundred points ahead in the Tour with only three races remaining. Bad luck, Hoff-looks like you're gonna fail again." Astrid frowned.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Felicia smirked, emboldened by the other girl's uncertain expression.

"Well, you know that Katrin, Magda and I worked as a team to block you and take you down in the Olympics?" she scoffed. Astrid pressed her lips together in a thin line, her eyes flashing with fury. Team tactics were against the rules-but this was clearly a pre-planned manoeuvre to ensure that Astrid had no chance at getting the Olympic medal her hard work deserved.

"So all that barging and elbowing was deliberate?" she checked and Felicia grinned.

"Katrin sacrificed her chance at the gold so I could get it and she got the silver when she overtook you when Magda mistimed her flight," she revealed smugly. "You were never meant to finish. You were meant to be taken out halfway down by Katrin whacking you with her ski stick so you crashed so I got gold, Katrin silver and Magda bronze. You ruined our plan-and our deal…"

"Deal?" Hiccup murmured as the woman turned her smug expression on him.

"Oh, you have definitely traded down, Hoff," she sneered. "This is a pathetic specimen." She pulled a pouty face. "Poor Hoff. Loser in the Olympics, loser in the Tour and loser in love. Is this the best you can get?"

Furious, Astrid leaned forward, grabbed Hiccup by the front of his shirt and pressed her lips hard against his. It was only meant to be a demonstration-but as she felt Hiccup gently kiss her back, her eyes fluttered closed and she felt a warmth blossom in her chest. Eyes finally fluttering open, she pulled back, a small smile tilting her lips.

"Oh, he's very good indeed," she commented as she sat back down, taking in Felicia's furious expression.

"Get off my boyfriend!" Cami yelled, throwing herself at Astrid, who ducked back. "He's MINE...OOF!" The enraged blonde skidded across the table and carried the tablecloth and all the food, condiments and drinks straight into Felicia and her companion, splattering them all in wine, gravy, sauce, mash and fries. Astrid sat back, seeing the two women and the man-the Moguls skiier Thuggory Carnaby who Astrid had gone out with briefly before he dumped her for Felicia-in a pile on the floor. Felicia was trying to throw Cami off and the blonde was furiously scrapping with her while Astrid was trying not to laugh. Their meal was ruined but it was almost worth it to see the people who had ruined their meal making such a spectacle of themselves. She had noted that many of the patrons-who had smiled at her as she had walked in and who were clearly fans of Berk's finest winter sports star-filming the confrontation on their phones.

"Get OFF me!" Felicia yelled.

"Hiccup, baby-you know you're meant to be with me, right?" Cami pleaded, trying to appeal to him. But he shook his head.

"Um...you told me that you didn't want to be with me, that I lacked ambition, that I wasn't good enough for you," he told her, his lips still tingling from the kiss. Somehow, the fact that Astrid Hofferson-who apparently was a big star (though he hadn't realised that) but who was definitely a beautiful, smart and sassy woman-had kissed him gave him a little more confidence.

"I didn't mean…" she gabbled, clawing at Felicia as she tried to get up and wipe the gravy from her face. Hiccup opened his texts.

"You are just a loser. You won't amount of anything. Can't waste any more time on you," he read. "Erik is such a great guy-why can't you be like him? Really, you just aren't good enough for me." He swiped the screen again, blinking. "Or maybe 'You're just not the right guy for me. You want to waste your life in a scabby public school while I deserve much better than you. Erik is going to give that to me.' What part of that implies I am ever meant to be with you, Cami?" His voice had hardened but Astrid could see he was deeply hurt. "You broke my heart by cheating on me, dumping me for the other guy and telling me I was worthless. Sorry- I just can't take you back."

"You're pathetic!" she spat, suddenly enraged that her advances had been rejected.

"No-what's pathetic is that I thought we were in love-but that you cheated on me, dumped me, broke my heart and when things don't work out, you imagine I will just come running when you snap your fingers." His voice had risen. "I'm worth more than that, Cami! I'm worth...worth...Astrid!" he said suddenly and grabbed Astrid's shoulders and pulled her forward and pressed a fierce kiss onto her lips. She immediately kissed him back, her hands rising to tangle in his auburn hair before they finally sat back down, both breathing hard.

"Wow," Astrid murmured.

"You worthless…" Cami began.

"...loser…" Felicia finished as she finally scrambled to her feet.

"Better than a cheater," Astrid told her smugly, her pulse still galloping from the unexpected kiss. "And I'm looking at two of them, both caught out and pathetic." Felicia dusted herself down and tried to regain her dignity, which was difficult as she was smeared with peppercorn sauce and gravy.

"So what you gonna do about it?" she scoffed. "You can't do anything!"

"Except maybe enjoy what people say when all these diners post their videos of your confession?" she suggested as Felicia stared at her and then looked around frantically, suddenly realising what had happened. People were already uploading what they had filmed to the internet and there was a definite excited hubbub in the restaurant.

"STOP LOOKING AT ME!" Felicia shouted as cameras turned back to her and then she turned to the smirking Astrid. "YOU! You did this!" Astrid blinked.

"Excuse me?" she asked. "I think you came up to me while I was having a quiet meal with a friend and started shooting her mouth off." She leaned forward. "Word of advice, Felicia: if you wanna go round cheating on the Tour and in the Olympics and illegally taking out competitors, don't announce what you did in front of a packed restaurant!"

"I-I…" Felicia gabbled. Astrid shook her head and tutted.

"I'm sure the IOC and FIS won't be happy to hear about your conduct," she added. "Bringing the sport into disrepute, maybe?" Her phone pinged and she lifted the device to smile. "And the vid is already going viral."

"AAGH!" Felicia screamed and threw herself at Astrid, carrying the blonde to the ground. Astrid found the other woman pulling at her hair and she punched directly up, The dark-haired woman flew back into her companion, who grabbed her and tried to calm her down-but she yelled and lunged at Astrid again. As Astrid tensed, Hiccup grabbed Felicia and shoved her back.

"I think you better go," he said sternly.

"Hey-get off of her!" Thuggory snapped and punched out at Hiccup. The blow glanced off his chin and he sat down, blinking. Astrid scrambled up and threw herself onto the man, bearing him to the ground.

"Leave him alone!" she yelled. Thuggory blinked as she punched him across the face. He shoved her back and scrambled up but she punched him again,, sending him spinning back into the husky host, Fishlegs. Heather was there was well as a powerfully dressed man in Chef whites with cropped carrot red hair, stubbly beard and with claw tattoos over his left eye. The whites were embroidered with the words 'Dagur-Head Chef' and the man's green eyes narrowed as he saw Thuggory surge forward, his fist raised to punch Astrid, who had just punched his nose again. Dagur the Chef made to intercept but Hiccup gave a yell and threw himself onto Thuggory, punching the handsome man in the face. Cami, who was being restrained by a kindly-looking Fishlegs burst into tears.

"You never fought anyone for me!" she wailed. "This just isn't fair!" Thuggory punched Hiccup and he landed across the table, winded. With a roar, Dagur the Chef flung himself into the fight and swiftly took down the skier while Heather restrained Felicia in a very professional arm-lock. Her green eyes twinkled as she glanced at the Chef, who had Thuggory pinned.

"Well, brother-looks like this wasn't such a change from being in the riot police after all!" she grinned. Dagur grinned back.

"No-this is much more fun, sister!" he replied happily as he lifted the man completely off the ground and hauled him to the door. There were cheers, whoops and more filming as Astrid clambered up and hurried over to Hiccup. They could still hear Cami wailing and cursing as she was dragged away.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned voice as he looked up, his chin bruised and eyes shocked.

"Um...yes...yes, I think I am," he said in a shocked voice as she helped him sit down. "Wow. I don't think I've ever been in a fight. Um...until now…" Then he looked over at Astrid. "Are you okay? You punched her with your bad hand…" She blinked and then looked at her right wrist. It had been instinctive and she hadn't felt a thing. She absently rolled her wrist.

"It's fine," she said and her face lit with relief. "It's fine!" Hiccup chuckled.

"I suspect that's the first time Felicia has done you a favour?" he guessed and she nodded.

"Oh, that's for sure," she admitted. And then she smiled. "Why did you kiss me?" He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ah-aha...you noticed that, did you?" he said self-consciously. "Um...it was just...you kissed me!" He paused and stared into her wide blue eyes, amused and confident. "Why did you kiss me?"

"Because she insulted you," Astrid said simply. "She was horrible about you when you had been so kind and generous to me when I had been so mean to you. You shared your room even though you didn't have to. And you listened to me moan and complain and then you told me your story and when you said my name...it was…"

"Special," Hiccup murmured. "Thor, I said that aloud, didn't I? Ooops,..." She chuckled.

"Well, this is certainly a different break," she commented. "I expected a quiet evening. Maybe early to bed and not even seeing in the New Year-and instead I have the most enlightening meal, a completely unexpected confession and two extremely good kisses."

"While I was coming here to run away from what happened and just try to get some space...and while my problems followed me, I ended up sharing an amazing meal with you and...wow..." His emerald eyes were shining with surprise and happiness and she smiled.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO OUR RESTAURANT?"

The twin concierges/owners were standing at the entrance, their hands clamped to their heads and looking distraught. They marched up to the pair who were clearly the epicentre of the chaos and glared at them.

"YOU! You...wreckers..." Tuffnut accused them, stabbing a dramatic finger in their direction. "You Sir...Madam...have ruined the evening!" Astrid folded her arms.

"Actually, it was ruined when someone let his ex-girlfriend and my rival in here...and I don't think either had reservations…" she said. The twins shared a look and then glanced at the stocky shape who was watching from the entrance with an 'oops' expression on his face..

"SNOTLOUT?" Ruffnut growled. "Did you let some people in who didn't have reservations?" The man suddenly looked shiftly.

"Well, they wanted to go and speak with their friends who they had seen sitting in the window and it's New Year's Eve so I guessed it couldn't do any harm…" he said in a rush. The concierges shared a look and grabbed him by the arms.

"You muttonhead!" Ruffnut growled. "You've caused a complete disaster…"

"Which we will sort out," Heather offered, walking forward. Dagur and Fishlegs walked behind her, carrying a large gas burner and a huge frying pan. "Okay-for those guests who were involved in the chaos-especially Miss Hofferson and Mister Haddock, we will provide the Chef's speciality-Crepes d'Hiver!" They put the burner down by Hiccup and Astrid's table and Heather walked up with a tray of crepes, bottles of spirits and butter and kirsch-infused black cherries. Hiccup looked up at the bottles and then leaned over to Astrid, who had grabbed her chair and pulled it round to sit at his side.

"Does that look like a lot of alcohol to you?" he asked in a low voice as Dagur lit the burner and melted the butter. He expertly poured in a huge slug of brandy, an even larger slug of Kirsch and the extremely alcoholic-smelling black cherries. Astrid nodded and the pair edged their chairs back from the table.

"Yup," she murmured. Dagur slid the crepes into the pan. Fishlegs was leading a sing-song of the other diners, who had all been served bottles of champagne. The pop of corks and the fizz of the drink was being mixed in with a variety of familiar Berkian songs. Heather drifted over to stand by Fishlegs.

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" she murmured. "This is supposed to be a high class restaurant…" Fishlegs shrugged.

"I work in the spa and also provide daycare for the kids-if we ever have any staying," he reminded her. "You asked me to try to get the other guests happy after the scene-and alcohol works really well." He jerked his head towards Dagur. "I would be more worried about your brother and his concoction. He usually sets the kitchen on fire when he makes it. And he's really gone heavy on the booze…" Heather saw Dagur grin to the room and flick open the lighter...and as she looked, she could see the shimmer of alcohol above the overfull pan.

"Dagur…" she yelled, waving and trying to stop him but in that moment, the alcohol caught and a huge orange fireball engulfed the Chef, the pan and scorched the roof. Hiccup and Astrid dived for the floor as the fallout swept over the remains of their table and the HAPPY NEW YEAR! banners caught fire. The guests and looked up, screamed and grabbed their free drinks before they stampeded for the door, flattening Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Dagur staggered back, his eyebrows completed scorched off and his face blackened and as Astrid glanced over at Hiccup, the sprinklers cut in and the whole room was drenched .

Astrid looked into Hiccup's eyes and started giggling.

"Okay...so we haven't finished our entrees and the restaurant has caught fire so maybe we could head out and get something?" she suggested and he crawled with her to the door, both drenched.

"I think that would be safest," he admitted as he glanced out the picture windows. "It may be minus ten but compared to inside here, it's the safest place!" The slopes were lit by headlights and the lower drag-lifts were working. People had gone out and were tobogganing and snowboarding down the nursery slopes while a DJ was settling up and a hot dog and Mulled Wine stand seemed to be doing good business. Sharing a glance, they dashed out of the deluge and headed upstairs.


	3. Snow Shenanigans

**THREE: Snowy Shenanigans**

Drenched and dripping-and laughing all the way-they sped upstairs and towelled down, then changed into their skiing gear and headed out. Astrid in her sleek baby blue expensive skiing suit and white angora woolly bobble hat and Hiccup in his black BerkMart ski jacket and pants, his green knitted bobble hat on his head. Astrid took his hand and they walked down and then she pulled him to the door at the bottom of the hotel, punching in the code she had been given and clicking the light on in the ski garage. She swiftly went to her equipment and looked over at Hiccup. "You got kit?" she asked and he shrugged.

"Boots," he shrugged, gesturing and she smiled, then sized him up by eye and expertly fitted his boots to the hire skis she had selected from the small selection in the hotel garage, grabbed a pair of sticks and clipped her feet into her boots. "But I'm really not any good...and um...you're apparently so amazing that your rivals have to gang up on you to stop you!" She chuckled and walked across the him, beckoning him to sit down and expertly putting his boots on. And then she paused and patted his left foot. She looked up, her eyes wide.

"Is this…?" she asked and he nodded, his head dipping.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Lost the foot in the accident where my Mom died...but my skiing isn't really much worse since I was hopeless before and…" She snapped the clips closed and stood up.

"For what it's worth, I am very impressed," she said to him, taking his hand. "It's very brave-and I wouldn't have known otherwise." His eyes widened.

"Really?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah," she told him with a grin. "Some of those Paralympians are amazing. I mean really amazing. And the fact you're here and willing to have a go just blows me away, Hiccup. I mean-I'm a bit nervous getting back on snow but if you are willing to try, then I know I'm going to be okay."

"You may need to remind me how to ski," he told her. "Haven't been since Dad died…" She beckoned him down and kissed him.

"Maybe it's the large number of champagne cocktails they served us during the meal but I know you're going to be fine," she told him as they walked to the edge of the cleared path and put their skis on, before they slithered over to the little drag lift. Hiccup immediately looked nervous.

"Did I tell you I am horrible on these?" he asked her as a small child almost knocked him over. She came up to his knees and had a huge crash helmet, a bright pink ski-suit and short little skis and was yelling at the top of her voice. Four more tiny children sped through and took the pair of them down. Astrid started giggling again as they clambered up and managed to get onto the lift. Hiccup's lift paid out as far as it could, recoiled and then catapulted him into the snowdrift by a bush. He waved an arm.

"I'm okay!" he called and managed to scramble up. Astrid glided to his side, helped him up and towed him to the bottom of the lift. This time, they made it to the lift and she got him safely up to the top of the slope. Hiccup looked down and his eyes widened in sudden anxiety.

"I think this may be a terrible awful very very very bad move," he told her suddenly but she grinned.

"If you get to the bottom, Hiccup, I will give you a kiss," she told him and side-slipped down a couple of yards. "Bend your knees, toes in, on your edges first and weight forward…" He looked up, very stiff and nervous.

"I bet you say that to all your pupils," he mumbled.

"Only the really cute ones," she giggled and then saw him grin.

"Okay...for a kiss…" he said and slowly flattened his skis slightly. Inching forward, he reached Astrid. She grinned and slid down a bit further. "Hey!"

"When you get to the bottom…" she reminded him as he skiied uncertainly after her. He was breathing hard and slid to a halt when he reached the bottom as she giggled and glided easily up to him. "Well done!" she congratulated him and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Aww...is that it?" he pouted. She chuckled.

"Another run, another kiss," she promised. Standing up and a little more confident, he staggered over to the lift and more confidently slid up the slope with Astrid smiling and coming up behind him. He managed two more runs before he fully regained his confidence. This time, he gave a sly smirk.

"Okay-this time, it's on," he said and tucked his arms in, flattened his skis and shot down the slope. Astrid gave a smile-and then her eyes widened. "Look out!" she shouted as the group of kids cut straight across Hiccup's path. Unnerved, he leaned away from them and rocketed off the the side, zooming in the path of a dozen other skiers and accelerating.

"Oh Thor," Astrid muttered and shot after him, skating to increase her speed and tucking as she wove expertly across the slope. There were _oohs_ and _ahhs_ at the sight-but Hiccup was out of control, arms windmilling and screaming as he sped unerringly at the only tree on the slope. "LOOK OUT…!"

And then he hit. There was a collective 'OOH' across the slope and then Hiccup peeled off and collapsed backwards like a felled tree. And then all the snow from the branches landed on him.

"HICCUP!" she shouted and screeched to a halt at his side, unclipping her skis and digging him out of the snow. He groaned. "Are you okay?" He winced and then gave a thumbs up.

"I'm good!" he said muzzily. "How's the other guy?" Astrid looked up at the tree and smiled in relief.

"I think he'll live," she told him and helped him up. There was a red mark on his forehead but it looked like he'd escaped without too much harm. "And now, my hero, I think I owe you a hot dog and a Mulled Wine!" He sat up and gave a sigh.

"Oh Thor, thank you," he sighed as they dug him out, dusted the snow off him and slipped down to the bottom of the slope. Astrid stowed their gear and brought him back his snow boots while he sat down on a bench to wait for his head to stop spinning. He smiled up to her in relief. "Well, now I can say I skied with the great Astrid Hofferson and even outran her on one run on the Nursery Slopes at Dragon's Edge! So I can retire undefeated!" She gently batted his shoulder before she helped him up and they walked to the hot dog stand, where he treated them both to a hot dog with extra onions and mustard while she paid for two large glasses of Mulled Wine.

"Thank you, Hiccup," she smiled as she looked up into his sparkling eyes, his nose and cheeks red from the cold. "This has been the best New Year's Eve ever." The music was playing over to their left and people were still enjoying the slopes as they stood under the stars. Heather, Fishlegs and Dagur were out as well, enjoying the Mulled Wine. The husky host and the woman were holding hands and clearly a couple while Dagur-without eyebrows and his short spiky hair very singed-was hugging them both and downing shots of Akvavit between bites of hot dog. All the hotel guests were out and enjoying the festivities while Ruffnut and Tuffnut were dancing wildly to the music and Snotlout was unsuccessfully trying to chat up Camicazi, who slapped him as they watched. Hiccup smiled.

"I should thank you too-for not throwing me out of my own room and giving me the best evening ever," he told her. The countdown was starting and everyone was staring up the slopes into the stars. "You've made me feel like someone actually might value me."

"While you gave me my confidence back-and made me feel valued as well," she told him. Her phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen-and then she started laughing.

"What?" he asked her.

"Word sure gets around," she laughed. "Apparently the Tour are going to reopen the investigation into my crash-with Felicia and her friends provisionally suspended-and the Archipelago Olympic Committee have already filed a protest about my race!" Hiccup chuckled.

"Boy, that was a busy dinner," he laughed. She looked up into his face, wrapping her arms around his middle. "And maybe a victorious New Year?" She smiled.

"You know, I think I would give that up if I could maybe spend some of it...with you?" she asked a little hesitantly.

"Me?" he gasped. "But-but I'm nobody…"

"Not even the only teacher in your family," she smirked.

"While you're the only Olympic medallist ever to come from Berk," he replied.

"But I was wondering-would you want to spend some of the New Year with me?" she asked him. He leaned closer to her, his eyes half-lidded.

"How much of it?" he asked and she leaned forward.

"Approximately all of it," she said and kissed him. Around him, there were shouts of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" and fireworks began to explode overhead. Smiling and pulling back to get his breath, Hiccup stared into her eyes.

"I think...I would love that," he said. "Happy New Year, Astrid." She smiled and leaned in again to kiss him once more.

"Happy New Year, Hiccup," she grinned as the rockets exploded above the new couple.

 **A/N: And Happy New Year 2019 to you all! -hp**


End file.
